I was employed but this was 2007 and I paid my own insurance.

This^^^

Is Medicare Socialized Medicine???

How are Medicare hospital stay, surgeries, and doctor bills calculated?

I had the same experience, went to an "Approved IN Network ER" with what we thought was a hear attack. Two of the attending doctors were NOT in network at said in network ER and got the surprise bills from them. Found out later that both hospitals in town were in network but the insurance company preferred us to use the other one. When your ticker is messed up the extra few miles to the other hospital is not on your mind. Needless to say, I had the heart cath done at the preferred one later on once they thought they had it figured out.

It is weird how the charges work. My wife is not yet to Medicare and went to a “Doc in the Box” with bronchitis. She did not even see a physician but saw a PA. She had Aetna through TRS as a retired teacher. The office visit with a “PA” was $350! Of course Aetna wasnt gonna pay that so the patient gets hammered. As was mentioned before the medical profession has helped create this. My thought is that if Biden is elected his plan will be as bad or worse to push his left agenda.

And for you young Forum members out there dreaming of retirement- MEDICARE IS NOT FREE! My Part B is $144 a month and Supplement (Medigap) is up to $250. Part D medicine is $25. That being said I have never had a Copay going through doctors visits including testing as well as 2 Surgeries. Just a heads up.

The closest the USA has to Socialized Medicine is VA care. FYI, I have been getting great VA care for many years. Yes there have been problems. Had a bad Doc once. Filed a complaint, as many other patients did, and he no longer worked there. But overall, my health care (even appointment times) have been far better than when I was being seen by civilian Docs before I got into the VA system. I don't have to worry about cost. I have a medical problem, I just make an appointment or go into the urgent care/emergency room.

Theres no single problem or fix. Emit, you may be the exception for great VA care. All we ever hear is how bad it is. Anyway, it's a revolving door for docs and insurance companies. They both get to line each others pockets. The docs may get the short end of that deal but they still get paid. Bottom line is money over morals but that's a whole different topic. My thoughts are no network, no state borders for insurance, just total free market where prices have to be set and shown before the work is done. You have to get the insurance out of the position they are in with the upper hand and let the people get that back. The only way to do that and keep it a free market is with a true free market and competition. That and crack down like a bad @$$ on anybody that works together to fix prices or services

Free market and competition only works for larger cites for an industry like health care.

Proof?
Is this a theory?
Don't you think there are a huge number of doctors and nurses which would love to work in small towns.
Is there suddenly a logistics problem?
Can we not ship medical supplies to small cities.
This is BS

Where is the competition when you only have 1 County hospital and the closest other ones are in Cites 45 minutes or more away? You must not know how Free Market and Competition work. There actually has to be a market big enough to drive competition.

Hmm
Drive 45 miles or pay 10x the costs....
Seems like an easy decision.
Convince will always be a premium, but it doesn't mean monopoly

This EO is a political stunt for the election. It is essentially a rebranding of Obama Care.

Yup, you clearly don't understand living in Rural America nor how Free Market and Competition works. But you are like my dad was. He would drive 30 miles to save 2 cents per gallon for gas. It would cost him more to drive there and back, but he had his principle to live by.

I pay more for gas to use the old country store. I chit chat with the olds who are in there each morning and listen to them talk about how screwed up the left has made our nation. I am nothing like your cheap dad was. I also support the local fishing supply store. If I didn't think all doctors were scum sucking bastages, I might support them too. They have shown their colors. Green and greed.

That is how the free market works. If health care or insurance is important to you, then you’ll find a way. People live in the sticks for many reasons, and choose to do so giving up a lot of things they can get in the big city.

To say have a true market health insurance system wouldn’t work because there are people who live out in the country is, no offense, one of the silliest arguments to not have a true free market system. We have to stop governing this way. Free markets woke, but the government only creates winners and losers with everything it does. Let the free markets work, let people choose, and let individuals determine what’s best for them.

We are so far away from free markets in a lot of industries, but the “people living in the country” argument might be the weakest one I’ve ever seen for arguing against free markets.